In June she formally complained to chief executive Clare Hadley in relation a comment Sir Tim made during a council meeting, about a member of her family.
A report presented at the meeting by independent investigator Robert Buchanan recommended a retraction and public apology from Sir Tim.
But the mayor urged councillors to allow him to continue with his ‘‘unblemished record’’.
‘‘I believe it will be too difficult ... to place this in a situation where I could be found guilty of an area in which I really played a very small role.
‘‘I did apologise when we left this chamber here and, at the first opportunity I had, I apologised to councillor Soper - and to her credit she acknowledged that.’’
During the debate, Mrs Hadley said council spent about $9000 on the Code of Conduct process.
Cr Rebecca Amundsen moved the recommendation on the report, but no councillor seconded it.
Yesterday Cr Soper said the report was ‘‘comprehensive, unbiased and fair’’.
‘‘I don't agree with this decision [of the council] and I think a dangerous precedent has been set, basically condoning unacceptable behaviour in the future.’’
